This invention relates to a presentation aid and more particularly to a visual presentation aid that enables the presenter to prevent an audience from anticipating material in advance of the presenter's chosen timing.
An oral presentation is often coupled with a visual presentation employing a multi-page easel pad. Typically, each page of the easel pad carries five or six written items, and as that page is revealed, by turning over the previous page, the audience sees all items simultaneously. This encourages the audience to anticipate the presenter's sequence, and distracts attention from the presenter. Further, turning the pages of the easel pad can be awkward or difficult, particularly for a presenter who is not tall, and if a page is torn it is advisable to prepare a complete new set of pages in order to avoid the unfavorable impression of the torn page.
Despite these potential pitfalls, the easel pad type of visual presentation aid is still preferable over, for example, an overhead projector, because the presenter stands close to the easel pad, turning the pages and pointing to the information, so that the presenter and the information are perceived as a unit and the audience's attention is always directed to the presenter and the information together, rather taken being alternately directed to the information displayed on a projection screen and the presenter.